PIERRE - A new law taking effect July 1 in South Dakota will limit licensing fees to no more than $65 and halve the hours of required continuing education for massage therapists.

Massage therapists now pay a $200 renewal fee for a two-year license.

"Some people were upset about that and they appealed it and had an amendment put in the law this year," said Dawn Stratton, a Pierre massage therapist. "The fee (will be) right, now, I think the board set it too high at first."

Most massage therapists are part-time, and the fee was too high for them, she said.

State law now says a massage therapist needs 16 hours of training in two years. After July 1, it will be eight hours.

"That part of it I wasn't too happy with, because I think education is important," Stratton said.

"The actual law itself is great for our profession," said Tish Gilmore, Stratton's business associate. "Regardless of the nitpicking things we have done with the law, the fact that we have one in place is imperative."

The law "gives us credibility as a profession," Stratton said.

The state Board of Massage Therapy plans to meet this summer to work with the new changes in the law - including setting a new license renewal rate. The reduction has put a snag in the board's budget, but Brett Koenecke, executive secretary, said he thinks the board can work around it.

"The effect of the laws as passed by the Legislature has caused the board to tighten its budget considerably but will certainly allow it to function to protect the public and fulfill its role of regulating the massage therapy industry in South Dakota," Koenecke said.